April 18, 20251 yr Hello to All, I have the opportunity to talk with many people in my travels. Came across a farm in Ipswich Mass. Couple old barns and 3/4 sheds. Get talking with the owner and after a while I ask him if he has any anvils for sale. He says, do I have an anvil for you. And he shows me this. I ask how much he wants and he says… Are you going to use it, I say yes ofcourse and he says. Take it and use it. Needs a good home. All I want is to see it used. We loaded it up in my truck and got it home. What do you guys think. Everything Is stamped weight stamp = 2.0.4 = 228lbs M&II Armitage Mouse Hole Forge Written in side N1 Written in the center oh the foot under the horn… The Pritchel hole is 5/5” diameter The Hardie hole is 1 1/8” sg. Has excellent rebound, with consistent ping everywhere… See attached images Edited April 18, 20251 yr by Fuji’s forge Spell check
April 18, 20251 yr OOOH NICE SCORE! The Pritchel looks to be 5/8" dia. and a 1 1/8" sq. hardy hole is a nice size. It's easy to make sleaves so smaller hardy shanks will fit than trying to get a too large shank to fit a smaller hole. She's in great condition, and no obvious abuse. That isn't to say it doesn't have hidden damage like being in a barn fire 100 years ago and the temper having been run. If you get back in the neighborhood of the gentleman who gave it to you I hope you'll take him a gift you forged on that beautiful old lady. Even if you have to take a 12v. battery blower and bag of charcoal to a park and use the BBQ. as a forge to do it. One last bit from me. I hope you bought a lottery ticket that day! Frosty The Lucky.
April 19, 20251 yr Very sweet score. I've seen worse anvils of that size go for $1500. I agree with Frosty about making him something special. I understand his sentiment. I've been thinking about where I want my shop to go once I am gone. I am more concerned about benefiting beginning and working smiths than anything else. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
April 19, 20251 yr Beautiful anvil; great score. With that stamp, it was made between 1854 and 1875. What you have as “M & II” is actually “M & H”, for brothers Morgan & Henry Armitage, the then-owners of Mousehole Forge.
April 19, 20251 yr Author Thank you both for your information. All I have done is wire brush the anvil to get the outer layer of dirt and rust off. Should I dress the edges or leave as is? Thanks again,
April 19, 20251 yr Absolutely do not dress the edges! It is fine as it is. As a general rule, no grinding should be done on an anvil. There are some rare exceptions but I doubt they apply in your case. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
April 19, 20251 yr NO! Those edges are near perfect now. If you actually need sharp edges make a bottom tool with sharp square edges. A block of steel with a shank that fits the hardy hole welded to one side. The advantage of placing the shank on one side is placing the bottom tool closer to the center of the anvil for greater effectiveness. Frosty The Lucky.
April 19, 20251 yr Author Ok then, no dressing the edges… lol I’m in the process of making a wooden stand…
April 19, 20251 yr Good Fuji, have a cookie. How are you making the stand? My preference is a welded steel tripod but that's me. There should be pics in the anvil stand section if it's still there. Frosty The Lucky.
April 19, 20251 yr Author Ok, thank you, I will check that out before I make a final decision on material…
April 20, 20251 yr I am in envy of that anvil. I have a Mousehole as well, a bit smaller, and i absolutely love it. I would wipe it down with a bit of BLO maybe some steelwool on the heavier rusty spots and put it to use. I would also put it on a wooden stand. Mine is on wood and tied down pretty secure. When i hit it it has a thud instead of a ring. Anyway nice score.
April 24, 20251 yr Author Thank you all for the comments. I have a bunch of 4x4 oak post perfect for a stand. I am currently seeking designs that I find interesting… I will post images when it’s completed… Fuji
April 24, 20251 yr It's hard to beat lumber screwed and glued together vertically for an anvil stand. It's easy to recess the anvil into the stand snugly so it doesn't need to be spiked, banded, clamped, etc. down. I used some old wooden guardrail posts to make the stand for my swage block, being creosoted glue was out so I through drilled them and used 1/2" all thread to clamp them tight. Before tightening the bolts I squirted half a tube of construction adhesive between the posts. It's not actually glue and was forced into the rather rough grain of the timbers. It's solid as a rock and I don't have to worry about it rotting. Before I tried my first steel tripod anvil stand both my anvils stood on vertical lumber stands and liked them very much. I recessed the screw heads to avoid having little shin biters protruding. I used a spade bit just larger than my impact driver Then piloted the hole about 1/2 way into the far timber, alternating direction from both sides. I covered each timber with carpenter's glue and drove the screws home with my pneumatic impact wrench. AFTER slathering the screw in carpenter's glue, it makes excellent lubrication so screws don't split wood and the screws won't come out. The impact wrench or breaker bar will the head off a lag screw before it'll unscrew. A trick I learned from Dad. Frosty The Lucky.
June 18, 20251 yr Author Ok, cleaned up the anvil with wd-40 and wire wheel. Wiped it down. Then applied a nice coating of ATF. The patina on this is beautiful. Have a look… My oak stand is close to completion. I’ll show when done…
June 28, 20251 yr Congratulations on acquiring a grand old lady of anvils. Astounding that you got it for free. Put it to good use and give her the best of care. I highly recommend that you try to acquire the book, Mousehole Forge, by Richard Postman, the author of Anvils in America. It is a fantastic book about the forge and its history. The book is now out of print, but you might get lucky on searching and find one. My son gave me a copy of Anvils in America some years back obtained from Richard Postman when he was selling them and to my surprise, Mr. Postman graciously included a copy of Mousehole Forge; both books autographed by Richard Postman...Wow!! I don't know how many times I have gone back to read through Mousehole Forge.
August 11, 2025Aug 11 Author Ok, stand complete. Used 10” timber screws with glue to secure 4x4 oak lumber. Rotored out a 1” deep cut-out in top of stand to drop anvil in. Perfect knuckle working height for me… Enjoy…
August 11, 2025Aug 11 Author I like it. Will need some tool holders on the side. I have 1/4” steel stock hanging around that will do the trick…
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